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Thinking of starting a taxi business? You may be interested in the thought of setting your own schedule and being the boss. Here’s what you need to know to start your own taxi business. We’ll cover the essentials such as what you can expect to earn and how to get the best private hire insurance.

How much does it cost to start a taxi business?

If you’re planning to start a new taxi business, your largest initial cost will most likely be how much you spend on your car. You’ll need a vehicle that is both suitable and highly reliable. Similar to a personal vehicle, the amount you will spend will depend on a range of factors such as make, model, age and mileage. You may decide to spend more because you’ll need a car that you can rely on daily.

You don’t have to buy a new taxi outright. There are other options such as hire purchase or leasing available to you. There are also great deals to be found on second-hand cabs, try to avoid a very high mileage. If you want to work in London, a hybrid or fully electric vehicle may be a good option. You’ll pay a lot more for the car but you could save a significant sum on fuel costs. Also, consider the type of car you’ll need for the job. Planning lots of airport drop-offs, ensure you have a vehicle that has larger storage capacity and can accommodate extra passengers.

A suitable car isn’t the only thing to consider when planning your budget. You’ll need to consider fuel costs, insurance, and regular maintenance. You’ll also need a work phone for bookings and perhaps a payment option facility for customers paying by card. Note: accepting contactless payments is essential as more and more people are using their mobile phones and contactless credit/debit cards to pay. Accepting cash only may mean you’re missing out on big business.

How to get your taxi license

You will need to pay for your taxi license, the cost can differ depending on where you are based. Here’s a breakdown of tests that you may need to pay for:

Medical test

Language test

Knowledge test (if working in London)

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check

Additional costs you may need to consider

Marketing and advertising will be an important consideration for many new business owners, and this also applies to new taxi business owners too. How will you inform potential customers about your business? Set aside an amount for advertising in local directories. Printing leaflets and business cards and dropping them off through people’s letterboxes is still another relevant option in today’s age.

Social media has changed the way we do business and is also now a minimum requirement for many. Think about setting up your own Facebook and Twitter page to reach customers, these platforms also provide targeted advertising to reach whoever you want from a specific demographic such as location. If you’re providing a specific taxi service such as airport drop-offs and collections, make your customers aware. Perhaps even your own company website would help set you apart from your competitors. First impressions are extremely important, the right professional image could make or break your brand-new taxi business.

How much can I earn as a taxi driver?

The amount of money you’ll be able to earn as a new taxi driver will ultimately depend on how many hours you work and where you are based. The National Careers Service estimates that taxi drivers on average can earn up to £30k per year. You’ll also need to consider reducing your expenditure, so saving money on taxi insurance will help greatly.

How much does taxi insurance cost?

On average, taxi drivers will pay an average insurance premium of £1,200 to £1,800 per year. It is important to remember that your location, vehicle, previous claims history and other rating factors will ultimately decide what your total cost will be.

How to get the best taxi insurance

The cheapest cover available isn’t always recommended and could be problematic. Make sure you understand what you’re covered for along with any limitations and exclusions. Ensure your private hire taxi cover includes public liability insurance and breakdown cover, although these can be purchased separately. Optional extras include things like business interruption cover and personal accident cover.

To get the best value, don’t accept the first quote you are given automatically. Compare cover from many different leading providers. To save money, consider increasing your voluntary excess to an amount you’re happy with. Some insurers offer discounts if you choose to pay annually rather than monthly.

To summarise, it’s important to survey your market beforehand, ensure you have the right license to operate, purchase the most suitable taxi insurance and be ready to work hard. We wish you every success in your new journey.

Every individual today can be an entrepreneur with the help of techonology and global networking. Startups require a good idea and a well executed management of the whole process to become successful. The innovations which can change the market as well as do not affect nature and resources can be the best way for a start up to gain pace and an upper hand on their competitors. Almost 95% of the start ups in 2018 has digital business plans for their start ups. However, there is still a huge amount of companies which are sticking to the traditional business roots. Here are the new start up trends that you can witness through your own eyes in 2019.

Artificial Intelligence

AI is one of the most trending technologies that is being used in most of the already and newly established businesses. AI can be found in digital marketing, customer support, smartphones, and analytics. AI is implemented in businesses more than just trying to behave like humans. It is commonly used for the back end processing of the system to make the processes faster, more efficient, and more accurate. Some of the taskes which an AI can do on its own are writing advertising and news content, identify objects in the images, chat with customers, and recommend items according to your search history.

Remote Work

Since the internet has created, a worldwide network people have found new opportunities to work from anywhere they like and provide service to and from the remotest regions around the world. Internet is being used in urban and rural areas to provide the service of communication, which pushed out other services and facilities as well. Although many companies still work in traditional office spaces, the new startups are opting for remote work to get the right work force and get the work done much efficiently.

Voice Recongnition

Apple’s Siri, Google Assitant, or Alexa, voice recognition is one of the most interesting features you can find in a computer device. This technology works hand in hand with AI to perform tasked as commanded by the speaker. The technology is now growing and expanding into our lives by entering our homes and work. Today the technology provides the service of operating almost all the functions of the home with voice commands. Voice recognition is also being implemented in manufacturing industries, agriculture, field services, healthcare, and more.

Hyper Personalization

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This technology has been introduced in the late 2010s, which is benefitting the consumers to fulfil their expectations from brands. Hyper personalization records the preferences and demands of the users and redirects them to the products or services which suit them the most. The companies which offer the service of providing the right information at the right time are benefitting from this technology. It can be done either by keeping track of the services the users are signing up for or by sending the users emails and messages to know their interests better.

Investing in the stock market can be really easy and fun if you know the right way to search the market and invest your money. It can be a quick and easy medium of making profits but can immediately backfire if you do not know to read the market. Getting lucky is not an every time thing, and you will find yourself in the loss-train if you continue to invest blindly in the stock market. It requires time and regular investments while avoiding unnecessary financial risks to have compounding growth in the future. These tips will help beginners to use the necessary tools for setting a good start in the stock market.

Set Long-Term Goals

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Investing in the stock market is not like picking a lottery. It requires long term planning to earn significant profits and avoiding risks. It also depends on how soon you are expecting to get returns on your investment. It can be in the next six months, after five years, or for when you get retirement. It is important to understand the purpose and need of the funds. The stock market is volatile and does not always promise the money back when you need it. But considering how much you need, you can calculate how much you are ready to invest and what kind of return is needed to have fulfilled your needs.

Understand Your Risk Tolerance

Knowing the risk involved in the stakes is a very crucial step of stock market investment that one cannot skip. Risk tolerance can benefit or harm the investments. The risk depends on the assets that you posses and also the knowledge that you have about the market. If you understand how the stocks are purchased and sold, and how the efforts required to liquidate the investments. You can find the stocks which involves less risk and avoid those which make you anxious while making an investment. Only those who are able to maintain the calm during the highly volatile times and high risks make the best profits in the stock market.

Control the Emotions

One of the greatest weaknesses of a stock market investor is making decisions based on emotions. This cuts off their rational thiking and the ability to make logical decisions. In the stock market, the emotions of the people also result in tremendous differences in investments. One needs to understand that while investing in a market, they should have a good reason to do so and an expectation on the returns. Before you purchase any stocks, know when you need to pull them out for your own needs, rather going with the emotions for the company. It is the right way to invest in stocks.

Diversify Your Investments

One of the popular ways of managing risks in stocks is to diversify your investments. The smart investors put their money in several industries and countries so that even if they face losses in one of their investments, they are still making profits in the other investments. Diversification allows the investors to recover from the loss of your investments and still being able to earn a good amount of interest in other markets.